{"id":288940,"date":"2023-04-23T20:58:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T20:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=288940"},"modified":"2023-04-23T22:59:18","modified_gmt":"2023-04-23T22:59:18","slug":"major-concern-after-sloppy-clunky-manly-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=288940","title":{"rendered":"Major concern after 'sloppy, clunky' Manly win"},"content":{"rendered":"

When first-choice halves Sean O'Sullivan and Anthony Milford<\/a> went down injured a few weeks back, many thought the Dolphins'<\/a> fairytale was over.<\/p>\n

But we should have known better than to doubt Wayne Bennett<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The master coach has fashioned a new halfback combination of rookie Isaiya Katoa and jack-of-all-trades Kodi Nikorima.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> F1 reject's stunning spray on current crop of drivers<\/strong><\/a>\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> How V8 Supercars icon bailed out Dame Edna<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The 'enormous' issue facing French Open bosses<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The pair were instrumental in Sunday's remarkable 28-26 win over the Titans that broke records left, right and centre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They set up three tries between them as the Dolphins slowly but surely chipped away at the Titans' 26-0 advantage to keep the NRL's new chums in the top eight.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The pair have been combining superbly in recent weeks as the game's feel-good story of 2023 continues to roll on.<\/p>\n

Manly's win papering over the cracks\ufeff<\/h2>\n

They say good teams can win ugly – and it doesn't come much uglier than the Sea Eagles' 22-16 win<\/a> over the poor old Tigers in the wet and cold of Campbelltown on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

After some great showings this season, Manly looked like the Sea Eagles of late 2022.<\/p>\n

They were sloppy, clunky and looked like they thought they just had to run out onto the field to beat the winless Tigers.<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

It almost cost them too – it took a piece of individual brilliance from winger Jason Saab to get them out of jail late in the game.<\/p>\n

Saab scored one of his trademark tries from a high kick – and also led Manly in running metres (133) and line breaks (two) for good measure.<\/p>\n

Had he not been there, the luckless Tigers may well have broken their long drought.<\/p>\n

Good news comes for Tigers\ufeff<\/h2>\n

Tigers<\/a> coach Tim Sheens<\/a> has been saying all season that he has good kids coming through – but didn't want to rush them into the top grade.<\/p>\n

But desperate times call for desperate measures and Sheens somewhat reluctantly handed fullback Jahream Bula his top-grade debut against Manly.<\/p>\n

Bula, a 21-year-old from New Zealand was put under intense pressure by Manly in difficult conditions – but shone in the gloom of Campbelltown.<\/p>\n

\"Jahream<\/p>\n

The youngster ran for 173 metres – the most of any player on the field – and won his duel with Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic.<\/p>\n

And the best news for Tigers fans? He agreed to a new extended contract last week.<\/p>\n

Cowboys cult hero the leading man\ufeff<\/h2>\n

There have been many factors behind the Cowboys'<\/a> fall from grace this season – but signs are they are on the way back after the spirited 18-16 defeat of Newcastle on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

And one of the chief reasons for the turnaround was an outstanding performance off the bench of key man Reuben Cotter.<\/p>\n

Cotter was like a whirlwind last season before injury brought a premature end to his year and he has missed a couple of games already this season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But the Queensland Origin<\/a> star began this tight game on the bench and had a massive influence when thrown into the fray after 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Cotter ran for 189 metres and made a game-high 46 tackles in 66 minutes of game time to turn the tide the Cowboys' way.<\/p>\n

He doesn't get the attention of the likes of Jason Taumalolo, Val Holmes or Scott Drinkwater, but make no mistake – Cotter is a key figure in the Cowboys' finals hopes.<\/p>\n

Sharks star misses out on big bucks\ufeff<\/h2>\n

Will Kennedy has impeccable timing on the football field – but off it, not so much.<\/p>\n

Just days after signing a new deal with the Sharks<\/a>, Kennedy bagged a superb hat-trick in Cronulla's 33-20 win over the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

Kennedy had been in hot demand from rival clubs and had he held off signing, he could easily have commanded a much larger deal after his demolition job on the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/p>\n

Kennedy did all the damage in the first 22 minutes against the injury-ravaged Doggies to take his tally for the season to nine tries in seven games.<\/p>\n

Kennedy's performance put the Sharks on track for back-to-back wins for the first time this season – but their defence was still shaky against a spare parts Bulldogs side.<\/p>\n

Broncos main man isn't the one you think\ufeff<\/h2>\n

Payne Haas<\/a> gets all the headlines in the Broncos pack, but it's Patrick Carrigan who leads the way for Brisbane up front.<\/p>\n

He may not be as dynamic as Haas, but Carrigan keeps going all game and is a genuine leader in the battle in the trenches.<\/p>\n

The tall forward was in his element against the Eels on Friday night, making 158 metres and a team-high 37 tackles.<\/p>\n

Carrigan is enjoying his best season in the top grade and is a major reason behind the Broncos' surge to the top of the ladder.<\/p>\n

He's a State of Origin certainty and a model player on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\"Jai<\/p>\n

Queensland star keeps showing up\ufeff<\/h2>\n

With five leading forward missing, the Rabbitohs needed someone to stand up in the trenches to the fearsome Penrith pack last Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Enter Jai Arrow<\/a>, who played one of the finest games of his career to help the Bunnies to their stunning win.<\/p>\n

The tough forward played 72 minutes in the front row, made 113 metres and 38 tackles to inspire the under-manned Bunnies pack.<\/p>\n

While Latrell and co got all the headlines, the Bunnies' coaching staff were delighted with Arrow's effort, fully realising that he was able to make the hard yards up the middle and stop the Panthers pack from dominating.<\/p>\n

The win meant a lot to Souths – they have been the Panthers' 'bunnies' – so to speak, in recent years, winning just one of the previous 11 meetings between the teams.<\/p>\n

The win, particularly with so many troops missing, will be a massive confidence boost for the Rabbitohs come finals time.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When first-choice halves Sean O'Sullivan and Anthony Milford went down injured a few weeks back, many thought the Dolphins' fairytale was over. But we should […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":288942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288940"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=288940"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288947,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288940\/revisions\/288947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/288942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=288940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=288940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=288940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}